According to Plan
by lenniiee
Summary: Pepper's Christmas plans are ruined by the snow, but is it such a disaster?... “Does this mean I can’t get out? Tony, you could do something right? Suit up and clear the snow or something?”
1. I bet Iron Man could open it

According to Plan

Ok so this is my first Ironman fic, but I thought I'd get in the Christmas spirit :)

Pepper Potts picked up the last of the various files and folders that she had been labouring over that day and placed them gently by the front door of the mansion before returning briefly to Tony's workshop to say a last goodbye before she boarded a plane to see her family in Arizona over the Christmas weekend.

She placed her hand on the scanner at the bottom of the stairs and searched for Tony amongst the many piles of seemingly destroyed metal.

"Tony? I just came down to say goodbye… and to remind you that we have to go to a meeting early on Boxing Day, so you know, go easy on the drinking ok?"

After a moment of silence, Tony's grease covered face appeared from underneath one of his cars, "Goodbye? You're going somewhere over Christmas?"

Pepper shifted awkwardly, uneased by Tony's look, one she couldn't quite define; a mix of curiosity and… hurt?

"Yes Mr Stark, I have plans with my family, plans which I told you about a few weeks ago actually…" replied Pepper with a slight grin.

"Plans," Tony leaned against his desk and wiped his hands on a spare cloth, to get rid of some of the oil coating his hands, "I don't like it when you have plans."

It was becoming harder and harder for Pepper not to smile openly now, warmed by the familiarity of the conversation.

"Yes well, if I don't leave within the next two minutes, I will miss those plans, so goodbye Mr Stark and have a pleasant Christmas." She smiled at him briefly as she turned to head back upstairs, and as she walked away she heard Tony mutter a small "Merry Christmas." and smiled again as she approached the front door.

Taking one last glance around the mansion, she felt content that she had definitely remembered all of her things and arranged all the meetings that needed to be arranged.

_I should feel happy_ she reasoned, _having the next couple of days off relaxing away from work… away from Tony…_

But the more she thought about the fact that she would actually have to relax and wouldn't be able to look after someone for the next couple of days, the more the thought seemed to scare her.

It wasn't really just a job after all, it had become much more than that; during the three months that he was… away in Afghanistan, Pepper had continued to work, she had tried to stick to whichever schedules she had been able to keep, always keeping herself busy, always _working_. But it was the absence of Tony that made those tasks so unbearably dull; it was during those months that Pepper realised that she_ needed_ the constant banter between herself and Tony; she _needed_ to hear the occasional burst of song that Tony went into when he was working, she_ needed_ those rare moments when he would oh-so-subtly acknowledge how hard she was working and bring her a mug of coffee, and most of all how she so desperately _needed _Tony.

Sighing, she gathered up all her things and opened the door, well… tried to open the door. Putting down all of her things in a huff, she put both gloved hands on the door handle and pulled. Still nothing, the door didn't even budge. "Oh, for crying out loud." she muttered under her breath as she readied herself for another try.

"Having trouble" interrupted a cocky sounding Tony from behind her.

Pepper gasped in surprise and her hands flew off the handle, sending her flying backwards… into the laughing and open-armed Tony.

She could feel herself blushing as she attempted to regain any remaining dignity by scrambling quickly out of Tony's arms.

"The door… it's erm… stuck…" she whispered. Cursing herself for sounding so weak and pathetic, she looked up at Tony's face, expecting to see a shit-eating grin plastered across his face, so was therefore surprised when she was instead met with warm, almost understanding eyes and a friendly smile.

"Well, we'll have to make it unstuck then won't we?" he replied, mimicking her whisper.

Tony turned away from the stunned looking Pepper, and analysed the door, almost as if it were one of his treasured cars and stepped towards it casually.

After his second attempt at opening the door failed, his look of curiosity was quickly replaced with one of annoyance.

"Huh." he turned to face Pepper again. "It's stuck."

She laughed at such an obvious statement and spoke, "I know Mr Stark," she giggled despite herself "the great Tony Stark, the 'Da Vinci of our time' can't open his own front door. Huh."

Pepper didn't know where such an informal exclamation had come from and inwardly cursed herself, and when she met her boss's gaze once more, it was obvious that he didn't seem to mind.

In fact he was grinning.

"I bet Iron Man could open it."

She chuckled briefly before sobering and remembering that if she didn't leave soon, she would miss her flight, but before she could voice this concern to Tony, he had moved to stand next to the wall at the front of the house.

"Jarvis, can I take a look outside please."

The once solid, stone looking walls changed swiftly into a computerized window, and both Tony and Pepper had to close their eyes suddenly and the walls changed to a bright white.

"_Outside _Jarvis."

"**Sir, it appears that between the hours of 4pm and 1pm there has been a considerable amount of snowfall, the door has been blocked by the snow outside sir."**

"What!?" exclaimed a now angry Pepper. "Does this mean I can't get out? Tony, you could do something right? Suit up and clear the snow or something?"

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair, "I can't use the suit, I've taken it apart for upgrades… it would take a few hours for me to work on it enough for it to be safe to use again, and by that time you'll have missed your flight anyway. Sorry Peps."

Pepper rubbed the bridge of her nose in frustration and leant against the wall.

"Well those are my plans out the window." she muttered, as she reached for her bag and began rummaging through it for her trusty Blackberry.

Tony watched as she dialled in a number and held the phone to her ear, this feeling of helplessness was not boding well with him; he was used to facing problems that had a clear and straightforward answer… but his thoughts were interrupted as he heard Pepper's voice beside him; "Hey Evie… yeh I'm fine, well not totally fine… I'm snowed in… yeh I know I'm sorry…uh huh… I won't be able to see you after Christmas for a while… yeh I'll try and make time… it's not that easy… I'll call again tomorrow ok?... sorry again, say hi to everyone from me though…"

She put the phone away with a sigh and turned to an uncharacteristically quiet Tony, "I guess it's just us two then huh?" she smiled at him, but it didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Hey I'm sorry about your plans-"

"It's not your fault Tony. Just… um… pretend like I'm not here ok? I don't really know what you do at Christmas anyway…"

An awkward silence passed before Tony bent down to pick up all of Pepper's things.

"Hey, what are you-"she started to protest but Tony had already disappeared up the stairs and so she stood there for a couple of seconds in stunned silence before hearing Tony's voice call her from the top of the stairs; "You coming Potts?"

A/N Right so that's the first part of the story, I'm aiming to finish the whole thing by Boxing Day at the latest, but reviews would make me work just that little but faster :P

And Merry Christmas to everyone by the way,

Lenniiieee xx


	2. Blame it on the brandy

According to Plan chapter 2

A/N Thanks for all the reviews so far everyone, and I hope you all had a Merry Christmas :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Ironman, or anything associated with it

"Tony, _what_ are you doing?"

Pepper stood at the doorway of her boss's bedroom, watching him rummage through his giant walk-in closet.

"I'm mffpsshff…" came his muffled reply.

Sighing, she walked into the room towards his voice and repeated, "Tony. What are you doing?"

He turned around with a grin on his face and handed her a ball of rolled up clothing, and as he noticed her somewhat confused expression, he decided to explain; "Potts, you can't spend Christmas in your work clothes. Much too… constricting. You can borrow the hoodie, and I'm sure we can find a suitable pair of pants around here somewhere…"

He turned back to searching through the closet, lips still half curled into a smile as he acknowledged Pepper's unusual silence.

"But…" she looked down at the clothes she was wearing; a white blouse, buttoned all the way to the top, covered by a sophisticated black jacket and a knee-length pencil skirt to match. _Maybe he's right… What no! What are you thinking? Of course he's not right he's-_

But her internal monologue was cut short once she realised Tony was now staring at her, with a look of… concern?

"But what Potts?" he was looking her directly in the eye, analysing her almost.

Exhaling deeply, Pepper concluded that he _was _probably right in the long run; she would undoubtedly get uncomfortable during her stay at the mansion if she were to stay in the tight-fitting business suit, so meeting his gaze, she replied; "But… the best place to look for pants that would fit me, would be in the spare room across the hall." She then nodded to herself, pleased with her bluff.

Tony dropped his stare and laughed softly, "You're probably right. Get to it Miss Potts, we have a busy evening ahead of us. You can find the clothes and get changed without me, although it is a shame that you have to do the _changing_ part without me, whilst I get the drinks ready downstairs."

He was already out the door before his words had fully registered with Pepper; _drinks. He said he was making drinks… _She cradled her head in her hands briefly, _tonight should be…fun._

* * *

Pepper walked cautiously into the living room, now dressed in Tony's oversized, red hoodie and a pair of women's' jeans she found in one of the spare bedrooms, she did _not _want to know who they originally belonged to.

Noticing a small glass of brandy on the table, she sat down on the sofa and brought the glass to her lips. She closed her eyes and savoured the warmth that the drink brought to her, before placing it carefully back down. It was then that she observed a piece of ripped paper on the table, which she assumed had been previously hidden by her glass, so she picked it up and smiled once more when she recognised Tony's rushed looking handwriting scrawled across it.

It read; _Potts, I'm sorry that your plans for this Christmas were ruined, that's why I'm down in my workshop right now working on the suit, I'll let you know once any actually progress has been made. Until then, enjoy the brandy, Tony._

A frown crossed her face then, _he shouldn't be working on the suit, he should be relaxing right now… _So pouring out another glass of brandy to match her own, she swiftly made her way to the workshop.

After entering her code, successfully balancing both glasses in one hand in the process, she headed towards Tony's crouching form.

"Thought you could use a drink." she said as she sat down in the chair nearest to him.

Tony nodded and took a sip out of his own glass before placing it back down again and continuing with his work, with an annoyingly dedicated looking expression.

"Stop, Tony."

"Hmm?"

Swiping the piece of his armour that he was working from, from his hands, Pepper looked at Tony.

"Stop." she almost whispered, and the intensity of her voice scared even her.

"I need to finish the suit. So you can see your family, _ergo _I need that piece of the armour back." he turned around to face her, crossing his legs and staring up at her as if he were a small child, despite his seemingly demanding tone.

"What about what you said earlier? 'We have a busy evening ahead of us' hmm?"

"Change of plan. I decided that_ this,_" he gestured towards the dismantled suit, "was more important."

Pepper looked down at the heavy piece of metal in her hands, gliding her hand softly across its smooth surface. _He should definitely be relaxing; chilled out on his couch watching tacky Christmas movies with a glass of his finest scotch, not breaking his back down here for me, repairing the damn suit. _It was then that a disturbing thought flashed across her mind; "Tony, when was the last time you visited family for Christmas?"

He seemed taken-aback by the sudden turn their conversation had taken, before regaining his composure and speaking matter-of-factly, "I have no family Potts, so… not in a while."

He picked up another piece of the suit then, and turned away.

It was then, that Pepper had another thought. She didn't know what possessed her to voice this thought however but she would later blame it on the brandy.

"You're always welcome to spend Christmas with my family you know."

Tony froze.

Pepper's eyes flew open.

A painfully long moment passed before either of them spoke again, but it was Tony who broke the silence first; "Huh."

He turned to Pepper and pulled the piece of his armour that was cradled in her arms, she didn't even try to fight him for it, she was concentrating more on the smile on Tony's face. A smile rarely seen by anyone, it was genuine. Not the cocky grin that was plastered across most magazines, no, it was one that was only used when he was really happy, and usually amongst friends.

Their eyes met, "I better get working on the suit then."

A/N And there you have chapter 2, I'm not sure whether to continue this, or to leave it as a two-shot, so reviews would be really welcome and let me know if you want to hear more of this story.

Happy Holidays everyone,

Lenniiee x


	3. Long since blurred

According to Plan chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Ironman, or anything associated with it

Pepper sat in stunned silence, not really concentrating on the various sounds of metal hitting metal as Tony continued to work on the suit. His words hadn't really set in; the fact that he would actually _want_ to spend time with her family had her brain working overtime.

"Hey Pepper could you hand me the file behind you." Pepper jumped in surprise, allowing herself to take in her surroundings, and Tony's smooth voice… _smooth voice? Pepper what the hell are you talking about! You don't think your boss's voice is _smooth _for goodness sake-_

"Earth to Pepper." Tony's hand suddenly came into her line of vision; he was clicking his fingers in her face to get her attention. "File, please."

"Oh right, sorry." she said as she reached behind her to find the file. She watched his face turn into a frown as he inspected the file she had given him.

"This, Pepper," he stated, pointing at the piece of paper she had handed over, "is a restaurant menu. Are you ok?"

The concern lining his voice was what finally pushed her brain to actually _think_, to organise the hundreds of thoughts that were speeding round her head at lightning speed.

"You actually want to spend time with me and my family." It was supposed to come out as a question, but instead sounded more like a statement.

"You've worked with me for years Pepper, and you know pretty much everything there is to know about me, the good _and_ the bad, and I finally realised that I don't really know anything about you… I mean I didn't even know you had a sister until a couple of hours ago…" He sounded almost guilty as he was saying this, but Tony was right; Pepper _did_ know pretty much everything about him, from the number of suits that lined his closet to the number of times he has accidently stubbed his toe on the piano upstairs, that's how she knew that there was something else, some other reason as well as guilt which lead to his want to spend Christmas with her family…

Her silence seemed to unnerve him, as she could see him shift awkwardly on the floor, so she decided to leave questioning him to a later time.

Standing up, she gave Tony a reassuring smile which seemed to settle him slightly and she headed towards the stairs.

"So… I can actually go with you?" The sincerity and shyness of his voice made her smile; the infamous, playboy Tony Stark was actually unsure of himself, almost asking _permission_ to go with her.

"Of course." she replied with equal sincerity, "You concentrate on fixing the suit and I'll concentrate on packing."

* * *

Pepper had just finished cramming the last of Tony's stuff into his suitcase when she heard the intercom next to her buzz to life with frightening clarity; it was almost as if Tony were in the room with her as he spoke, "Pepper! The suit's done! You call a cab and by the time it gets here, the snow should be cleared." and she couldn't help but notice how he slightly bragged about the last part.

Pepper pressed the button to speak back to him, but stopped mid-action as she heard the unmistakable sound of Tony's suit fly into the air.

She dialled a cab and asked for her and Tony to be dropped off at his own personal runway, assuming that he would prefer to fly in one of his state-of-the-art jets.

She had just put the phone down when three loud knocks came from the front door, and dragging all the luggage down the stairs toward the door she couldn't help but laugh at the sight she was met with once she had opened the door; the red and gold suit had a rather festive layer of snow covering it, as well as a Santa style hat on its head. Tony flipped up the visor and grinned, "Are you ok getting the bags in the cab while I change out of this quickly?"

Pepper could all but silently nod in agreement, not trusting her voice right then in fear that another howl of laughter would appear.

* * *

They had now been seated in the comfortable jet for about an hour now, chatting sociably about anything and everything that popped into their heads; including Pepper mentioning various meetings that Tony would have to attend after their 'holiday', only to be greeted by a frustrated sigh of acknowledgment from him in return.

As the conversation drifted into companionable silence, Pepper began to ponder her and Tony's relationship; it was clear that they were more than simply boss and employee, but exactly how much more? The line between professional association and intimate friend had long since blurred, so much so that she sometimes catches herself wondering if there was ever a line at all. She glanced subtly at Tony who was reclined in his chair sipping his scotch, seemingly content and she found that she was smiling to herself.

"It's rude to stare you know." Tony's mock accusation caught Pepper off guard and she flushed a deep red in embarrassment.

"I wasn't staring." she retorted briskly. "I just happened to notice that you seem… happy…" the end off her sentence quietened slightly as she seemed to shrink further into her seat.

He smiled briefly, a soft yet sad look in his eyes, "I guess so." He turned back to peering out the window and Pepper assumed that he wanted to end the discussion there, but she was stubborn, hell she had to be after working for Tony Stark all these years, she vowed to herself then that she would find the real reason behind Tony's sudden, if not rather sweet, interest in spending Christmas with herself and her family.

A/N I apologise for the shortness of this chapter, the poor quality of it and the extensive length of time it took for me to post it, I had a lot of things to do just after Christmas and still need to do a lot of work at the beginning of this new year, but I made myself make time for this story, so don't worry, I won't abandon it ;)

HAPPY NEW YEAR,

Lenniiee xx


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